The New Colonialist of Ethiopia, The TPLF Apartheid, Must Be Categorically Rejected by Stakeholders!

The New Colonialist of Ethiopia, The TPLF Apartheid, Must Be Categorically Rejected by Stakeholders!

August 15, 2017

By Denboba Natie,

I believe that ‘There is a fundamental flaw in reasoning the TPLF actions since mid-1991; including its unprecedented level of brutality to unarmed civilians and expropriation of the wealth of the entire country; for an exclusive use of its politicians and for developing its own region; apart from Redefining it as a new form of Colonialism’ and ‘State-Terrorism’

The TPLF Background and Redefinition.

1. Definition

COLONIALISM ‘’the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country (region/s… emphasis added), occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically’’ (EnglishOxford Dictionary). TERRORISM ‘’the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in pursuit of political aims’’ (Oxford English Dictionary)

2. Background

The history of the ‘TPLF’ is stitched together with brutality of unprecedented level- impossible to describe with words; and marred with tens of hundreds of inhumane actions. Some of these include, politically motivated massacres of unarmed civilians, assassinations of political opponents, mass-incarceration and tortures- involving underage children to their death, inflicting severe pain whilst mass-murdering the subjects in various purpose-built underground concentration camps (equivalent to Nazi gas-chamber of Auschwitz), until they die a slow and agonizing death; decapitating the heads and body parts with machete, tying the victims onto trees whilst decapitating their heads; robbing banks, destroying public bridges with explosives, targeting, ransacking and obliterating humanitarian and public institutions such as hospitals and health centers……and carrying out the other countless morally unsettling actions, between 1975 and 1991.

The aforementioned, abhorring actions of the TPLF have been carried out against the people of Tigray (for whom the TPLF claimed was fighting for) and north Gondar (Amhara people-whose land the TPLF overtook in and around Wolqayt, Xegede and Xelemt) during the time, the TPLF was operating in Tigray mountains, fighting the Derg, prior to its usurping of the power in mid-1991 to own the entire country and its subjects. Since mid-1991, such previously-practiced sadistic actions of the TPLF became the daily routines to which all peoples of Ethiopia are subjected.

Founded in 1975 by few ‘die-hard’ groups of Tigres who were the followers of far-left ideology, linked to an Albanian Marxism; the Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) is a liberation front exclusively created to liberate the Tigray region. The TPLF manifesto unambiguously states that the founders have not created it for the benefit of the rest peoples of Ethiopia. Moreover, since the TPLF usurped the power, by toppling its military predecessor known as the Derg in mid-1991, its actions and insatiable appetite for expropriation of the wealth and resources of the country, is one of the key evidences that puts it, in indistinguishable position with the European colonial vultures; who have similarly dehumanized their African, Latin American, South Asian and Oceanian subjects whilst expropriating their resources.

The TPLF founding members primarily branded themselves as human right defender revolutionaries who were fighting for the independence of Tigray. However, after they have occupied the entire Ethiopia, they have lost the tenet of their ideological and philosophical zeal. Instead, they increasingly embarked on expropriation of the resources of the entire country, with 100% political domination, by subjugating their subjects. During their inception, the founders were predominantly young and middle-aged Tigres, most of whom dropped their college studies and civil service duties.

The reason why they decided to fight the Derg according to these groups was, simply because they believed that, all the successive rulers of the country have subjugated the Tigre people differently, thus they believed that the liberation of their people was the only viable solution. The claim of the TPLF founders however, has been disputed, since mid-1990s and regarded as blatant hypocrisy, due to their brutality to the rest nations and peoples of the country, since they took power; in addition to their brutalities to their own and north Gondar people whilst in Tigray mountains. Their sadism transcends the inhumane actions of all their predecessors combined. Some of the key founding members of these hardline militants include late TPLF’s architect Meles Zenawi, Dr Aregawi Berhe (defected), Seyoum Mesfin, Siye Abraha, Sebhat Nega, Abay Woldu, and the other handful of Tigres.

Justification for the TPLF being Colonialist Terrorist

Both definition I have employed above perfectly fit to the TPLF regime’s action of past 26 years. I argue that the TPLF is not different from the European colonizers in any measure, apart from being black, based in Ethiopia. Its mottoes and ambitions are as cunning as the European colonialists. In various regions of the country, but Tigray, the TPLF regime creates new generation and the society at large; whose dreams, hopes and aspirations are completely shattered due to excessive violence and ongoing state terrorism; whilst systematically grooming the youth of its region for a leadership, economic and military empowerment positions.

This scenario has been the case with European colonialists. For example, it has become 70 years since Pakistan has been created by the British colonialists when decolonization of India became imminent in 1947. Once again, the colonialists sow poison between the partitioned Pakistan from India to create Bangladesh in 1971. The ongoing conflict of the India and Pakistan, in ‘Kashmir’ is the outcomes of such malicious agendas of colonialists. The same practices remain unfolding in TPLF’s Ethiopia, since it has assumed power. I argue that color becomes irrelevant when the actions of the TPLF fully satisfy the definition of colonialism. The TPLF shown its indifference from the European colonizers who’ve Illegally partitioned the African continent and its subjects based on their agreement of ‘Scramble for Africa’. The cause, motivation and objective of the TPLF is the same.

Moreover, the TPLF is liberation front with the agenda of exclusively benefiting Tigray; although it has massacred hundreds of Tigres whilst undertaking guerilla warfare. Unless the stakeholders understand the TPLF and its apartheidic colonial and terrorist nature, the challenge of finding appropriate remedy for the unfolding tragedies remains; further begging, redefinition and reassertion of the obscured reality. The TPLF defected members have, time and again exposed that, the goal of the TPLF is, establishing an independent Tigray, by expropriating the entire resources of the country, providing further evidence for its unfitness for the business of running the entire country.

III. Cosmetic Shift Of Tactic Is A Precursor To TPLF Colonialism

The TPLF appearances have been cosmetically changed, when it has unexpectedly grabbed power in the capital, by the USA and the UK stage-management of its transition from the Derg regime to TPLF. This has been a defining moment for the TPLF and for the peoples of Ethiopia; simply because it has been one of the historical eras that have reshaped Ethiopia as a country and its subjects. This era has facilitated the means, either to maintain the Ethiopia’s traditional identity, or, to create TPLF molded Ethiopia that is partitioned (as the case during scramble for Africa) and prepared to be continually milked by these new forms of colonizers, who terrorize the subjects.

Soon after usurping the power, the TPLF has re-strategized its tactics. As its key strategy, TPLF has recruited surrogate political organizations known as PDO’s (Peoples Democratic Organizations) from the peoples of all nations to pretend to be an inclusive. However, the surrogates were created for its exclusive use in the aspects of aiding it to drain the wealth of their respective regions. For the last 26 years of its reign, the TPLF used these surrogates as efficient mindless tools. Furthermore, the facilitation aspects of the said arrangement were also made possible, by the involvement of West’s powerful politicians which enabled the TPLF to own Ethiopia and its peoples, with attached preconditions. Furthermore, the TPLF easy ride to the central role of Ethiopian politics has been made possible due to the international political dynamics. During this period, the global politics has been undergoing the greatest shifts ever have been witnessed for several decades prior to this time; the opportunity which the TPLF happily grabbed.

Owning Everything By Silencing Legitimate Beneficiaries Is a Pure Colonialism.

TPLF controls Ethiopia and all-round lives of its peoples from the level of federal government to the councils of neighborhood. Even it controls households where its agents directly or indirectly bewitch the minds of the subjects by sowing fear and terror, in the manner harsher than European colonizers. Since mid-1991, the TPLF has waged psychological war on the peoples of the country, mainly by magnifying the might of its army in bringing Derg’s regime down, thereby trying to inculcate, in the psyches of the subjects, about its legitimate rights to irresistibly rule over them; a typical colonial attitudes and practices.

The TPLF Regime in Comparison with Its Predecessors.

The TPLF regime is embarked on persistently demonizing its’ predecessors as its main policy for reasons. It has disputed the narratives of the predecessors about nationhood and nationality. And it has also adamantly refuted the relevance of the flag as a symbol of national unity, thereby pretending to be addressing the wishes of over 80 historically subjugated nations and peoples of the country. With such pretentious pretense, the TPLF has added a star in the middle of the older flag, supposedly reflecting the wishes of all subjugated nations and peoples. Its core aim however was, dividing-and-conquering the subjects, as it has been the case with European colonizers. The TPLF employs such tactics in entire country when setting nations and peoples at each other for no reasons. The European colonialists have deliberately orchestrated artificial border conflicts, as the TPLF is doing between the Oromo and Ogaden Somali, Gambella and Oromo, Sidama and Oromo and the rest.

The TPLF has premediated on how to monopolize the entire economy, military, security and political parameters in a manner unprecedented, before it has controlled the entire country. As indicated above, TPLF has created subservient surrogates under artificial arrangement that has been masterminded for ascertaining the success of its objectives. Although the predecessors have got historical malice, besides, none of them are comparable with the actions of the incumbent in terms of their viciousness to the majority; and in the aspects of expropriation of the resources of the entire country to exclusively enrich their own region and politicians. Unlike its predecessors who had worked for their own hegemony by dehumanizing their subjects, the current proved its malicious nature in terms of systematically dividing and segregating the rest nations and peoples of the country in distinctive manner than all its predecessors. It has employed a typical ‘divide-and-rule’ colonial tactic in addition to draining of the wealth of the country by displacing the subjects.

An extremely condescending and dehumanizing nature of the entire predecessors has been as demeaning as the current, simply because they all share common denominator on subjugating the oppressed nations and peoples. Besides, the authorities of the entire predecessors had a common vision of an enforced Ethiopia. Such enforcement has been without not only respecting the subjects, but also denying the fact that there are over 80 distinct nations and peoples in the country who’re supposed to be equal stakeholders, yet denigrated and denied their identity, often obliged to accept an enforced fake identity. Those who believe in ‘Ethiopia or death’ become oppressors; whereas the rest became subordinate, hence relegated to a second citizenship; whilst their culture, value and ways of life were equally relegated to a lower status. Such erroneous belief of the unionists, to date isa compromising the furtherance of the united struggle of stakeholders to bring about a lasting solution by removing, colonially re-baptized criminal TPLF.

The TPLF cunningly used this loophole to divide-and-rule nations and peoples of the country. In furtherance of its heinous objectives, the TPLF has also prepared a lifeless constitution which erroneously seemed to be filling the gap. However, it apparently became evident that, the TPLF uses the said constitution only to incriminate its opponents and legitimize the dehumanization of its subjects. Under the pretexts of constitution, TPLF controls all aspects of peoples’ lives whilst enjoying unrestricted freedom in the aspects of political, economic, military, socio-cultural, and security, denying these all to the rest.

1. The TPLF Exclusionist and Racist Policies Are Colonialism

The TPLF has extravagantly developed the infrastructures and institutions of the Tigray region to the level of an independent country. Ample evidences also indicate that the TPLF politicians have exhortingly confiscated and drained, out of the country, the sum of at least $34 billion dollars in addition to owning the entire economy of the country in exactly similar manner as European colonial vultures have done and are doing to their subjects.

Moreover, the TPLF politicians and business empires have persistently robbed the national bank of Ethiopia, whose asset belongs to the entire 10.4 million peoples, under various pretexts, with aim of laying the necessary foundations for an independent Tigray. To date, the dream of an independent Tigray remains the priority of core TPLF architects- than caring for the unity of Ethiopia and wellbeing of its subjects. Diametrically opposing, the TPLF is mainly embarked on disintegrating the country than building it. Besides, I have no problem with the TPLF ambition of creating an independent Tigray, as this remains a universal right of peoples and nations of any country. Yet, I do have a problem if this regime continually dehumanizes all peoples when they demand their rights to be respected. I have serious problems when I see people unlawfully arrested and gunned down on daily basis for demanding their rights to self-determination under the TPLF apartheid.

Furthermore, the TPLF considers having its own highly educated and exclusively trained work force in conjunction with the building of its economic muscles by milking the wealth of the entire country, as crucial as gripping onto power. Using federal budget, it exclusively trains and educates its human resources to be able to progress with its racist ambition. Between 70 and 80% of postgraduate, including PhD students who undertake overseas studies with federal budgets and scholarships are from the Tigray region, whose population is less than 6% out of 104. 9 million peoples of Ethiopia.

In furtherance of its objective, the TPLF has also established a specialized school where it trains, Tigray’s talented students under the name of ‘Qelemino’. Additionally, opened since the TPLF usurp the power, the Tigray University is the most equipped university in the county, relegating the Addis Ababa and Harromaya, the oldest universities of the country to a second and third positions. To the contrary, in the rest parts of the country, the regime focusses in symbolically opening inapt higher institutions where quantity is given due attention than quality. In Tigray region however, the quality aspects are strictly monitored. With such racist policies, the TPLF heavily invests the resources of the entire country on producing Tigray scientists, engineers, medical professionals, information technology, management and political leaders as its core strategy; whilst fabricating unquestioningly obeying, puppet surrogates in various regions. Using such ill-prepared surrogate leaders of fake political parties of various nations, the TPLF silences dissent voices to this date.

The Role Of West’s Politicians In Grooming TPLF To a Colonial Position.

In early 1990s, time and conditions were also in TPLF’s favor, simply because the East’s political blocks were in the process of crumbling, making the TPLF favorite candidate to be key player under the USA’s and UK’s stage-management and cosmetic facilitation; chaired by the USA’s former president Herman Cohen, a day or so prior to TPLF’s usurp of the power in Finfinnee/Addis Ababa.

The Key players, the USA, UK and some EU countries, have premeditated as to how to move from the initial facilitation of power grab of the TPLF to the following 2 and a ½ decades, simply because the TPLF agreed to run their agendas in the horn. Because of such unholy marriages, the price the Ethiopian subjects are paying became dire. However, currently the TPLF is left in tatters, although these groups yet to comprehend. I believe that, the West politicians deliberately planted poison, watered it and followed up on its growth to cause the current volatility in the country and the entire region by grooming such sadistic regime. Because of the Wests politicians’ unholy marriage with apartheid TPLF, the stakeholders of the country are driven deep into worst prison from where they are unable to extricate themselves for the last 26 years. The conspiracy of West’s politicians with the TPLF apartheid is such moral and ideological decadence, unseen before in the country. The continued support of the West helped the TPLF to assert and maintain its ambition of freely colonizing the country, although for the time being.

VII. The Maliciousness Of TPLF To Its Own People, Is A Lesson To Be Learnt.

As indicated in the background part of this essay, the TPLF regime assassinated hundreds of thousands of civilians of the Tigray to blame it on its arch enemy, the Derg. The reason behind the massacre of their own people was, to garner the support of the people of Tigray by angering them to stand against the Derg by erroneously believing their lies and deceits. The TPLF, with its barbaric actions has, indeed succeeded in garnering the support of the Tigray people, after massacring hundreds.

For example, the TPLF has meticulously planned the bombing of civilians in various places. It has picked its location where people sell goods and services in a place known as ‘Hawzein’ where hundreds were bombed to their death on June 15, 1983. Evidences indicate that, long time prior to this bombing, the TPLF has also conducted the same operation in a place known as ‘Abiye Hadi’ in February 1973; where over 100 Tigre civilians were massacred and about 300 wounded. The dwellers of both incidents were 100% Tigre people, for whom the TPLF claimed was fighting for. In the case of Hawzein; before the air bombardment has commenced, the TPLF architects such as late Meles Zenawi, Sebhat Nega, Seyoum Mesfin and the other key players have coordinated cameramen in all angles of the market place where the bombing of the civilians was due to take place. When the indiscriminate bombing of civilians in the market place has begun, their cameramen have taken their positions and were clearly recording the bombing, harrowing suffering and death of their own people. An unprecedented scale of barbarism, words can’t describe! These bestial gangs mustn’t be allowed to roam on the streets Ethiopia; rather they all must be handled by ICC urgently.

The recorded evidences were soon dispatched to the targeted Western medias such as BBC, CNN. Sudan, one of the TPLF main supporters’ Medias aired it during their prime-time news. The international community assumed that it was the actions of the Derg, thus supported its inevitable demise. Such malicious and inhumane actions of the TPLF architects only has been exposed by TPLF’s former comrades who have deserted the TPLF soon after it has captured Finfinnee. There are ample evidences proving that the TPLF leadership have assassinated hundreds of thousands of their own comrades and tens of thousands of Tigray civilians in barbaric manner to blame it on Derg.

VIII. Conclusion

In the past 26 years reign of terror, we have learnt how this regime is hellbent on doing two main things. Firstly, it has tirelessly worked on expropriating the entire resources of the country by impoverishing legitimate stakeholders with power of its military and security apparatuses. Secondly, it is determined to remain on power by literally terrorizing the subjects with its national army, special commando -killing machines known as ‘Agiazi’, police and security forces. Its actions have shown its colonial intents; leaving the peoples of the country with no option, but unite and fight for their survival to the last drop of blood. In the past 26 years, this regime has massacred thousands of unarmed civilians who have demanded their rights to be respected. Between 120 and 150, 000 civilians remain unlawfully incarcerated, where torture is rampant. As indicated earlier, the regime has monopolized the economy, military leadership, security and foreign affairs, leaving the peoples of the country undignified puppets, whose absolute obedience it expects. Those who demand their rights become the subjects of harrowing treatments only comparable with the treatments of south Africa’s apartheid. The ongoing resistances in Oromia, Amhara, Konso, Ogaden, Gambella and elsewhere are the outcomes of the TPLF brutal treatments of the peoples of Ethiopia for the past 26 years.

The TPLF Apartheid regime is resorted to a full-scale fascism deploying terror as means of governance to stay on power. This regime has time and again shown its unpreparedness to resolving the ongoing tragedies of last 26 years peacefully, with political dialogue. This regime left the peoples of Ethiopia with no choice, other than fighting for survival with everything they have. The so called international community (West’s politicians) must stop sponsoring this regime whose politicians are dehumanizing the subjects with mentality of liberating Tigray, not leading the country of 104.9 million peoples. It’s the peoples of Ethiopia who can liberate themselves from the TPLF colonialism!

Therefore, the need for a united action of subjugated nations and the entire stakeholders is paramount important. It’s imperative that, all peoples of the country must keep their political difference aside, to be able to unite and fight to remove the TPLF apartheid. Entertaining differences whilst the peoples of the country, regardless of their regions- are gunned down on daily basis by TPLF colonial apartheid, denied the essence of their dignity and pride, is not only ideological failure, but also historical error only reckless politicians and academics afford making. The time is today for the unity and action of subjugated nations against the enslaving TPLF’s colonial regime.